New World
by Wolfsalvo
Summary: Side story to my soon to be trilogy. A plane crash, fight for survival, strangely amazing owls, and the fight to save a survivor. Simon must travel around the Owl kingdoms while he will unknowingly join the treacherous Pure Ones, or the heroic Guardains.
1. New World

**Chapter 1: New World**

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

_"__**Ladies and gentleman, we will be experiencing some rough turbulence soon, so remain calm, and we will hit clear air again soon…"**_

I sat in my seat grumbling; I may have wanted to travel, but I would have preferred something around the lines of a boat. This was my first time flying, and I didn't like it one bit. We had been hitting turbulence for the past hour, and even I know that isn't normal.

Standing up and moving into the isle, I carefully opened the cargo hatch above my head, and grabbed my backpack. I was lucky since my seat was right here next to the isle, and there weren't as many people on this flight; maybe around thirty other passengers. As I sat back down, I looked in my backpack, but quickly shut it as the plane jerked down, and then up before being tossed to the sides.

When the tossing lessened, I quickly put my seatbelt back on, and gripped the armrest tightly with both hands, and my backpack strap under my seat. I looked to my right, out the window, and felt my bones get chilled. Outside, I saw two orbs glowing bright red, and flashing repeatedly. I leaned closer, and my heart leapt into my throat; the wing had been broken or cut, and two conduits were sparking with red flames. I pulled away and sat as far back as I could, "Oh shit…!"

It wasn't proper for my age to cuss at all, but I don't care really; the plane is damaged, and we are flying above water. A small weightless feeling over took my body as I felt a slight dip.

**CRINNNCHH… BANG**

Shooting my head back towards the window, I gasped as I saw a large portion of the wing missing. It was late in the day, three hours before sundown, but I could still see clearly; and this wasn't good. The plane shuddered as something affected it, and I gripped the armrests even tighter…

**(Wolf's P.O.V.)**

Tyler, Spot, and I were drifting lazily above the water as we sailed on the warm breezes coming off the sea. I had asked Tyler to come with me, but Spot still didn't like leaving my side, ever since my capture and sacrifice a month ago. Ezylryb, bless and curse his gizzard, had dubbed it as _The Greater Sacrifice_. "Hey Wolf, should we be heading back? Everyone else should be waking up around now."

I glanced up at the sky, and saw the sun was around thirty degrees away from the horizon. Glancing back at Tyler, I nodded and said, "Sure, I guess we sho-" I was cut off by a loud roaring screeching noise. While I looked around for the noise, a loud explosion sounded off above us, and when I looked up and saw a black smoke trailing something, it resembled something metallic… _a plane!_

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

While the plane was shaking and rocking violently, all the lights flashed brightly before popping. The red emergency lights turned on and a loud noise sounded outside my window. I turned my head with great difficulty, and peered out the glass, and my blood ran even colder with fear; the engine was on fire and a dark billowing black smoke was gushing from the hole in the top of the wing.

_What do I do! What _can_ I do! There must be some way I can-_

_**CREEENNNIICHH! *POPPING*… PEEW…**_

I heard a lady somewhere screaming, and someone else yelled, "GOD _NO_!"

Quickly I looked behind me, and saw what everyone else saw, and it wasn't a pretty sight. A window had cracked, and I was watching it slowly spider web some more, but the real problem was the tear in the planes hull. It was slowly spreading, and then the plane gave a mighty shudder as the glass exploded outwards.

A strange language seemed to echo in the cabin loudly, sort of like a prayer, but it ended when the plane tore in half, my end with the engines, and from what I know of planes, the cargo hold…

**(Wolf's P.O.V.)**

We had stopped flying now, but we were off the edge of the island, with a few other owls that had joined us. I looked over as Spot gently brushed up against me and asked, "What is it…?"

"It's a plane… humans use them to fly somewhere." I answered her. As I was about to look back at the plane, someone else said, "Is that normal… for it to become two pieces?"

"_WHAT!_" I yelled as I shot my head towards the sky. Indeed the plane had now ripped in two separate pieces. My throat tightened up, and I barely whispered, "We need to check for survivors…"

I turned around, and flew towards the King and queens hollow…

…

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

Massive gusts of air, along with the chill and noise, knocked all senses from my body, and I started to lose all sense of orientation. My body was becoming numb, and the crashing plane did nothing to cause me alarm. I grasped my arm rests extremely hard as a jolt ran through the plane, and through my window, I saw trees being snapped along with dirt flying, and then I felt a dull blackness engulfing my mind. I slumped sideways in my seat as a tree pierced the roof of the plane, and impaled a few of the remaining passengers in my part of the plane…

* * *

***Five hours later***

Slowly, and carefully, I started to move around. I felt groggy and a dull pain was emitting from my waist, and when I looked down, the seat buckled was pressing roughly into my hip. I pulled my seatbelt clip, and was surprised when it broke off easily. _Ok, where is my backpack…?_

I grabbed a sack from near my feet, and was relieved to see it was my backpack indeed. I took a deep breath before I stood up. It wasn't near as hard as I suspected it to be, but it was still painful. I stumbled to the back of the plane, but stopped short when I almost fell down from the end of the severed half. I looked around, and saw a red glow surrounding the plane. I turned back around, and headed to the front of the pain, trying my best not to look at the bloody bodies or the smears of blood in some places as I walked. I stopped before the cockpit, and saw a small ax, along with a pistol and a case of bullets secured behind some glass.

"Ok… I guess I will just have to use my shoe for this…" I said to myself. I reached down, and slowly took off my shoe. When I stood back up, I put my hand in my shoe, and punched the glass as hard as I could, and ended up hitting the metal in the back of the case also. I pulled my hand out, and slipped my shoe back on as I clutched my now aching hand. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, and reached in and first grabbed the pistol case, and slid it into one of my cargo shorts' pockets, and grabbed the pistol. I ejected the magazine, and saw it was armed, so I slid it back in, and cocked the clip, turning it into a lethal weapon. I grabbed the ax with my other hand, and hefted it onto my shoulder. I backed away from it, and tripped over something on the floor, and landed hard on my butt.

"Ow… what the…?" I looked at a small part of the carpet that was missing, and saw a metal latch open on the ground. I reached forward, and opened it up, and almost yelled in joy; I had always been a gun nut, but I saw a spaz shotgun, I felt my heart do a flip, and I noticed a holster for the pistol. I was grinning the entire time as I put the pistol in the holster, and found a few boxes of shotgun cartridges along the bottom of the compartment. I slid them into my other pocket, and cocked the shotgun.

I walked over the door near the side of the plane, and saw a flashing red button next to the entrance. I read it, and it said, '_use in case of emergency only!_' I smiled as I pressed the button, and watched as the door flew off, and a giant yellow slide slid out from under the door frame. Jumping out of the plane, I slid down the slide. Once I reached the ground, I started to walk around the plane, looking for anything I could scavenge…

**A.N.: what did you think of all that? Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself for my summer flight… which will be over 8,000 miles… what a flight!**

**Disclaimer: LOTG belongs to Kathryn Lasky, and whoever else that made the movie variant.**


	2. Scouting

**Chapter 2: Scouting**

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

_ Nothing except these nuts and a few bottles of water… I can make this work, I just have to go to that river and follow it. _I looked down at the supplies I had gathered and took a deep breath in. I leaned my head against the tree I was sitting near, and mentally visualized everything I had retrieved; a service pistol for airmen, a Spaz shotgun, an ax, four bottles of water, a lighter, and around ten bags of those skimpy near empty nut bags. My backpack contained a canister of Axe body spray, my deodorant, toothbrush, a few spare shirts, and a book I always took everywhere with me.

I heard the sound of owls hooting in the distance, so I gathered up all my stuff so I could see the birds of night. My passion was about anything that could fly naturally, except bats… those things were just creepy! I looped the pistol holster into my belt loop, and slung my backpack, along with my ax over my shoulder, and grabbed the shotgun off of the ground. I was near a cliff, with a waterfall nearby, which was the main reason I was over here.

Four dark shapes flew over the ledge of the waterfall; two were small owls glowing red eyes, another was a shining white owl with a red 'V' down its face, and the last one was a large brown owl. Then a blue glow was coming from behind them, and I saw what it was; two bats were carrying two separate bags of something with a bluish glow to them. _…bats… you got to be kidding m-_ I froze when all six figures started to fly down towards me, but the two small owls were coming at me faster than the others.

Quickly, and accurately, I threw my shotgun up, and grabbed the barrel, and held it upside down, and then got into a batters position. I waited... and then… **CLANGGG!** I closed my eyes before the impact, but opened them up with a howl of pain as I felt something cut my arm I quickly swung again, and this time heard a crack accompany the clang. I backpedaled it to the nearest tree, and looked down at my arm, and saw three parallel cuts along my arm, and all as clean as a knife would have done it. I heard more hooting, and quickly looked forward and held my shotgun the correct way… towards the demonic owls, and yelled, "STAY AWAY!" And took a shot at the owl with what looked like blood on its talons… metal talons… _METAL CLAWS!_

**(Nyra's P.O.V.)**

My wing was finally healed enough, so I was flying on this scouting mission to see if we could find and capture Wolf, and investigate that strange noise that had occurred during the day. It sounded like an avalanche, but no rocks fell in the canyons, and it sounded like a snapping, how wings sound when you break them, or when you snap a twig in half. I looked behind me, and confirmed that the two bats were still keeping up with us.

When we flew over the waterfall, I looked down, and immediately saw Wolf standing in the shadows of trees, looking up at us. "Dear, their Wolf is! Near the tree line!" he looked downwards, and I heard him hiss, and he soon said, "Soldiers, attack!"

We all dove down towards him, but the two soldiers flew ahead of us, and at Wolf. _He seems smaller than when he was an Other… and his hair is a darker black now. And he looks… younger, can this perhaps be a younger Oth- _**CLANG!**

I was snapped back to attention, and saw Wolf slam a Soldier away with a crude method, using his… boom stick… as a club. I watched as the other one sliced his arm with her battle claws, but she was soon batted as also, but her wing took most the impact, and her wing was broken. Then Wolf ran backwards, and looked down at his arm when he got near a tree. He looked up after the one that was hit first screeched, and charged again.

"STAY AWAY!" Wolf yelled, and then pointed the end of his stick at the other owl, and fired. The owl was killed instantly, but not before being torn apart on the wings. He shifted the gun towards us, and I stopped in midair along with Kludd and the bats. "Dear, that isn't Wolf… he doesn't sound that… young."

"I know…" Kludd responded. We were hovering there as the young Other slowly backed away, before turning around, and running away; which was surprisingly fast. I looked over at Kludd, and he said, "One of the bats must follow him silently, and remain hidden at all times. Tell one of them to drop their bags."

I nodded, and started to click my tongue in my beak, the form of Bat communication, and soon, one of them was speeding away…

* * *

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

Sitting on the tree stump I had found, I was busy wrapping a torn strip from one of my spare shirts around the cut I had on my arm. _You know… maybe I wasn't as smart as selecting my white shirt…_ I finished my tightening the knot on the bottom of the make-shift bandage, but I could see the three parallel red cuts along my arm. I sighed as I muttered; better get some sleep, so I can keep moving in the morning…" I noticed something small, and rat like move across the clearing from me, and I narrowed my eyes as I noticed what it was; a bat. I made like I was casually moving my shotgun over, and when the end passed over the bat, it stiffened, but when I set it down, I saw its wings loosen from its body slightly.

When I scratched me side, I slowly lowered it, and rested my hand near my pistol. I slowly pulled it out, and snapped it towards the bat, and saw it stiffen again, and fall down as a loud **BANG **sounded in the clearing. I sighed as I scanned around where I was, and as I deemed it safe, I planted my gun on the ground near me, and lowered my head onto my backpack, and pulling my arms into my shirt… _dang… next time, I make a shelter so I can sleep in warmth…_

* * *

**(Wolf's P.O.V.)**

Tyler and I were flying over the planes crash site, and looking around for anything out of the normal. We had been inside, and it wasn't a pretty sight; some of the bodies inside were maimed from tree branches sticking out of the ceiling, while there were blood streaks across the walls and floors in some areas. We noticed the emergency glass had been broken, and its contents were missing, so we suspected _someone_ was alive at least.

"Tyler, we should head back now, this was supposed to be a quick scouting mission so we could understand what happened here. Let's go!" Tyler looked at me, but instead he said, "We will fly halfway back and find a hollow to stay in for the night, we will look around a little bit more before we return to the Ga'Hoole tree…"

I sighed and shook my head, and said, "Well, if Spot or Outillisa gets mad, it's all on you, not me…"

"Don't worry Wolf; I will take all the blame! Now, we still have a survivor to find…" I didn't feel the least bit assured, but I sighed again, and looked down and spotted something. "Tyler, I think I see footprints!"

When I dove down, they started to be clearer, and clearer, until I was for sure they were shoe prints, leading away from the crash…

**A.N.: this story will include Simon finding a love for himself, just like Wolf and Tyler, but the girl will be the first to start having feelings. ;D**

**-WARNING**-** DO NOT BEAT THE WRITER WITH AN OWL… I WILL ONLY LMAO!**


	3. Making Friends

**Chapter 3: Making Friends**

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

All my gear was on my body, secured and tight, I had replenished my water supply not too long ago in a crystal clear pond. The pond was so clear and pristine, the sun reflecting off its surface along with no disturbances made the water seem like a sheet of glass among the ground; it was a beautiful sight, true natural beauty. I gasped as I bumped into a tree with my hurt arm, bringing me from my thoughts.

I looked up just as two large black birds sped by overhead, cawing and making other chirping noises. They looked and sounded like crows, but they were big like ravens, so I didn't really know. "Just if I could fly… then I could get to places faster…" I looked down at my arm and was reminded of the cuts from the three parallel blood streaks in the cotton, and I muttered, "…Maybe not…" I looked past my arm and at the pistol on my hip. I reached down and took it from its Hollister, and took out the magazine by pressing a button near the trigger. I put the pistol back in the Hollister and held the magazine in my hands, and slowly and carefully took out one of the bullets, examining every one of its features.

_Interesting how something so small and fragile looking is the cost of so many deaths in the world. Someone can be killed easier with one of these things easier than with a car or plane… amazing, yet frightening at the same time… _I was always the thinker when I was younger, observing everything as far as the joints in my arm, to the texture and effectiveness of skin. The muscles on my body made me seem so strong, my skin was lightly tanned, never burning, and my hair was a pure deep shade of black.

Suddenly and abruptly, loud cawing and scratching noises assailed to the area ahead of me, past a large tree. I popped the bullet back in the magazine and slid it back into the pistol, all in swift motions. I crouched as I approached the tree, and slowly slid around the side and looked at the scene before me; three large black crow like birds were surrounding the roots of a tree, pushing their legs into them, apparently trying to reach something further back in the root system. A loud screech pierced the air, and the crows backed away suddenly before resuming their… endeavors… to get what was residing in those roots.

_I might like crows, and I know it is the way of life, but I can't let those crows harm that other animal. _Putting my pistol away, I jumped out from behind the tree and started walking up towards the crow/raven things. "SHOO! SHOO, GET!" I shouted at the birds. At first they jumped, and soon they were all looking at me with beady black eyes. _Ok… those are definitely crows… uh… why are they coming towards me now…?_

The crows had started to creep towards me, and as I looked down, I saw a fair amount of rocks, like the ones I would use to skip stones every so often. I quickly crouched down and grabbed a handful of them and stood back up and shouted, "SHOO, GO AWAY!"

The crows just cawed as they spread their wings and crouched, all the while still walking closer towards me. I backed away until my back hit a tree, and I saw a head poke out from the roots of the other tree and give a chirp of surprise, causing the crows to turn around. Before the did anything else, I grabbed one of the stones with my right hand, curled my fingers around the smooth and jagged edges, and chucked it at the crow furthest from me. It cawed in pain and the other two turned back towards me, only to find themselves being hit with stones also.

Don't get me wrong, I hated throwing the rocks at them, I throw pretty hard and accurately; but they were creepy, and slightly frightening in the way they had moved towards me. I grabbed another rock and flung it at one of them again, and this time, the crow squawked in pain before finally alighting and flying away, along with its two partners in tow and a few more rocks pelting them as they flew away. I dropped the rest of my rocks and sighed as I looked towards the bird that was still looking at me, but it quickly hooted before ducking back into the roots.

I walked towards the roots and when I kneeled down in front of the entrance and looked into the dark, I saw two large frightened eyes looking back at me. I sighed as I slowly reached my un-bandaged arm into the roots and said soothingly, "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you… I prom- OW!" I yanked my hand away from the entrance and looked down at me hand, and saw three parallel scratches, similar to the ones on my arm, along the palm of my hand. I looked back at the owl, and it shrunk as the fear in its eyes brightened up, but I sighed as I sat down out of sight.

Grabbing the water from my waist, I uncapped it, and slowly poured the water down onto my hand, and the pain that ensued caused me to hiss in pain slightly. When I was sure the wound was clean, I grabbed a strip of my torn shirt, and slowly and accurately tied it around my hand. Since it was shallow, I only needed to cover it, but instantly dull but noticeable blood streaks marked the cloth where the cuts were. The owl poked its head out from the roots, and when I looked at it, I held up my hand and showed it my hand, "Look, that's what you did…" I sighed as I put it back down and brought my other hand up and scratched my head. I heard a small amount of noise, and when I lowered my arm, the owl was now standing out from its hiding place, and it seemed to be looking at my arm, where the other cuts resided. "So you want to see those al-" I was cut off by a loud _**caw**_, and soon we were surrounded by a dozen or so crows.

I shot to my feet as the owl attempted to get back to the roots it had previously hid in, but it was quickly blocked off by three large crows, curiously cut up, blocking its path. I drew my pistol as the owl crept back towards me. The three crows that had cuts slowly advanced on us, and I crouched and said near the owl, "Don't claw me again." And I snatched it up and stood up, I turned around and aimed at the closest crow as I started running, and as a few **BANGS' **overtook my hearing, the owl screeched as three crows fell away in front of us, and as I sprinted, I heard more caws from behind us, but I ignored them as I held the owl close to me and kept running.

I would hold my gun behind me and shoot a few times, and even fewer times I heard a caw of pain, surprise, and a thud, to know I had taken a crow out. Soon I wasn't hearing caws anymore, and I glanced behind me and didn't see the crows anymore. I was breathing heavily as I holstered the pistol, and leaned against a tree and loosened my arms. I slowly slid down the tree until I was sitting on the ground, and I looked down at the owl, and as it was trembling with its eyes closed, I whispered, "Hey, it… is alright… now…"

It slowly opened its eyes and looked around, and as soon as it had looked in every possible direction, it slowly started to tremble less and less. I smiled as my breathing was coming in easier, and I started to move its feathers around. It slowly turned its big round eyes towards me as its feathers rose up gradually, and when I lifted one of its wings and gently shifted through its feathers, it hooted softly. I glanced at its eyes and saw the questioning stare in its eyes, along with the nervous shifting it made with its talons. I smiled and moved onto its chest and stomach and said, "I'm making sure you don't have any injuries, I saw how those crows were trying to get you."

When I reached the center of its chest, it quickly but gently bit down on my fingers, before pushing them away. It hooted softly as it smoothened its feathers, and I asked, "Are you hurt in any way?" _like an owl is going to understand me…_

I could use many fancy extravert words, but I can say simply; I was surprised when the owl nodded its head slightly, and held out its other wing where a small gash was visible amid its side. I pursed my lips as I observed it, and took out the bottle of water I had used earlier, and dabbed another shred from my shirt, and dampened it. I looked into the owls eyes as it was looking at my water bottle with a hint of longing, and I looked back at it before asking, "Are you… um… thirsty?"

The owl looked at me quickly before nodding again, and I smiled as I looked around, but upon not seeing anything, I placed my bandaged palm on its back and gently brought it closer and tipped the bottle forward. When I started to drizzle/pour the water from the container, the owl quickly put its beak under the waterfall, and I could see the satisfaction slowly coming to its eyes. It pulled its beak away from the water, and as I recapped the nearly empty water bottle, it turned its head towards me with sparkling eyes, and as I grabbed the dampened cloth, I said, "This may hurt, but it will help your cut."

I lifted its wing, and slowly dabbed the gash with the shirt piece. It winced and made a sort of hooting pained noise, but I pulled away and said, "There, finished…"

"Hoot, hoot…" I smiled as it looked up at me, I sighed as I said, "Sorry, but I… unfortunately… can't understand you." The owl hooted again softly, but it walked along my body until it was near my chest, and it held its wings close to its side as it leaned against me, and shut its eyes. its breathing started to grow slower, and I sighed as I looked up into the sky, and saw it wasn't even midday yet, but I was drained of all my energy. _That is understandable though. From fighting crazy crows, to running, and mental exhaustion, I'm surprised I'm not tired more… I guess a nap wouldn't hurt._

I let the heaviness in my eyes slowly drag my eyelids downwards, and the warmth that enfolded me as the sun's rays landed across my body, but not my face, acted as a blanket. I brought my hand back up to the owls back, and gently ran my fingers through its feathers and down to its tail feathers, and before I drifted into sleep along with the owl in my lap, I heard it start a soft cooing noise…

* * *

**(Wolf's P.O.V.)**

"We have to be close to a survivor Wolf! Those were gunshots!" I exclaimed. I couldn't help but smiling myself, but it was quickly replaced by a frown. I looked over at Tyler as he said, "Yes, which is amazing news, since they were relatively close, but think of it like this… _WHY _did they _NEED _to shoot so many times…?"

I looked towards the direction the gunshots had come from, and said, "We might as well get over their then, hopefully they are alright…"

**A.N.: HAHA… how was this chapter? It was a treat especially since this chappie went OVER 2k words… I would appreciate I don't get threats after this… especially about being beaten over the head with an owl XD…**


	4. Found

**Chapter 4: Found**

**(Tyler's P.O.V.)**

I was looking at the carnage around us, which consisted of dead or dying crows littering the forest floor. The few we could understand, and that understood us refused to talk, or were too weak to say anything. I glanced towards Wolf and asked, "How old do you think the survivor is?"

Wolf shook his head in disbelief and turned towards me and said, "I don't know, but they have to be at least older than us… I'm barely able to hold my food down with all this… mess."

Clicking my battle claws along the branch I was on, I looked down and tried my best not to look at the bodies surrounding the forest floor, and I saw a few leaves that were torn and had dirt along the topsides of them. I narrowed my eyes as I looked harder, and noticed a few shoe prints along the ground at regular intervals, with a few of them being more noticeable than others. I fluttered down to the ground and bent down, and saw the rounded part of the print was pointing north, towards the sea. I looked back up to Wolf and said, "Whoever it is, they are heading towards the sea of Hoolemore. We might be able to cut them off there!"

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Wolf shouted back down before turning around and lofting into flight. I shook my head as I spread my wings, and became a brown streak as I raced towards Wolf…

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

The owl in my arms was still napping, and I had been careful the entire time to make sure I didn't wake it up, since they are nocturnal. It was nearing the end of the day, and I was starting to grow even more cautious, since I didn't know if it was going to be brighter tonight, or darker. The moon had been bright the past few nights, but I wasn't sure how much longer that was going to last.

As I pushed myself over a fallen log, I put my other hand on the owls back so I wouldn't shake it while I was moving. Its feathers were softer than I would have expected, and I didn't realize that earlier since I had all that adrenaline pumping through my body at the time. My fingers started to run through its feathers slowly while I continued to walk; _I wonder how I can get back home if I can't find anyone. I won't be able to live long out here by myself, and I can't live off of what I have been seeing as local wildlife… the only thing that I have seen so far is birds that are fairly large, and I'm not about to eat them…_

While I was still thinking, the owl had started to wake up from my fingers running through its feathers. Its eyes slowly opened up, and it yawned widely before its eyes adjusted, and noticed me rubbing its back. I looked down as I felt some pressure being applied to my finger, and I saw the owl holding my finger as its feathers had risen again. It pushed my hand away as it made a stream of hooting noises before leaning its back against my arm and looking up at me with those two big blue eyes.

I chuckled softly before I said, "I didn't understand a single thing you may have just said…" I smiled wider as the owl huffed and looked the other way, but this time its feathers remained up. I chuckled some more before raising my hand and gently pushing its feathers back down. It looked back at me before biting down on my finger roughly this time, but not too much to actually hurt. It pushed my finger away again, this time harder and hooted again. I looked at it before realization started to dawn on me, and I asked, "Does that mean you _don't _want me to touch you?"

The owl quickly nodded its head before it stopped, and slowly shook its head, confusing me even more. I sighed before thinking, and asking again, "So… you don't want me to, uh, rub your feathers?" This time the owl hooted some more as it nodded, and I smiled as I got it correct this time. I smirked as a thought crossed my head, and I asked, "And what if I do…?"

Huffing again, but this time it gently pecked my arm while I chuckled. I looked up as I heard a pair of hooting from above me, and I saw a brown owl with a black stripe down its center and a brown owl with lighter brown feathers under its wings, fly above us. When the last of the sunlight reflected on something silver, my blood ran cold, and I stopped walking as they slowly spiraled down towards us…

**(Wolf's P.O.V.)**

"Tyler, do you see the guns the kid has! Where did he get those from?" I asked as we were gently spiraling down towards the ground. I saw something shifting in his arms, and I saw him slowly reaching for his gun. "TYLER, GET TO THE GROUND!" I yelled back as I dove down for the ground. The boy managed to draw his gun, but when he pulled the trigger, I sighed in relief when I heard the loud click.

Spreading my wings and landing roughly on the ground with Tyler next to me, I spread my wings out and stood up straight while the boy tossed the gun into the air and grabbed the barrel, causing the pistol, to now be a club. "Hey, get him to stop! We are just trying to help him!" I shouted over at the owl in his arms.

The other owl opened its beak and nervously asked, "How do I know that? You are wearing battle claws." _What… how do humans _always_ find female owls first?_

"Have you ever heard of the, 'owls of Ga'Hoole'? We are with them." Tyler shouted from my side.

She seemed to shift nervously as she opened her beak and said, "Even if you are with them, what did you want with him?" and she jerked her head towards the human boy.

I stepped forward and said, "He is what we call an Other, and we know how to understand him, and get him to understand us, but we need to get closer to him." After I finished, she turned around and looked up towards his face, and when he looked down, she said, "Come closer, I will try to keep him calm. Maybe you should take off your battle claws first though…"

"Ok, Tyler, your claws will come off since you're the one that can… you know… help him." Tyler nodded as he stepped forward, and I easily helped him take off his claws. When he started to move forward, the boy instantly looked towards us, but the female owl talked to him softly as Tyler moved closer. When he was five feet from him, Tyler stopped, turned his back to the boy, and started to drag his talon in the dirt…

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

The owl with the black stripe had moved out of the way from what it was doing in the dirt, and I could make out faint words. I read them the best I could, and when I reread it, I could see it saying, '_trust me, and I will help you understand us. I need you to let me touch your arm…_'

I looked back at the owl, which was now facing me, and I looked back at the note before sighing heavily. I nodded and reached my arm down towards the ground, and as I crouched, the owl walked forward, and just before its wing made contact with my arm, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and the air started to smell like ozone.

Its wing made contact with my arm, and dark blue lightning shot out and struck me in the chest. It arched over and barely rubbed the owl in my arms, but I separated from the owls' wing, and fell over onto my back, gasping in pain as red and black dots played across my vision. I saw the familiar rich brown head of the owl I had helped looking down at me, hooting softly. "Hoot, uoot, ho- you alright?" _I'm not sure if I'm going crazy, but did I just understand what the owl said…?_

Somewhere near my feet, I heard an older masculine voice saying, "Wolf… make sure… no Pure Ones… show up… I need… a breather."

"Alright, take as much time as you need Tyler."

"Huh…?" I muttered as the spinning in my head was starting to lessen, and I was able to focus on the owl in front of me a little better than before.

"Are you alright…?" it asked again, but it, sounded like a her. I brought my hand up and gently rubbed the side of her feathers again, and when she huffed in annoyance, she looked at me and muttered, "Really…" and she leaned her beak over and bit down on my finger before pushing it away again. I chuckled softly, and did it again; causing her feathers to ruffle up as she huffed again. Before she could do it again, I said, "Yes, really…" her eyes instantly locked with mine with surprise written all over them, and I added, "Now, can you explain why you don't like this?"

She sputtered while she looked at me before she finally stopped, and leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "Your preening my feathers… well, it feels like it. And it is reserved for… well, mates."

I felt my face burning as I registered what she just said, and when she leaned away and looked another way, I said, "I can't believe you enjoyed it then!"

My mouth felt dry, my heart was pounding, and surprise and guilt were pouring through my body as she looked at me again with a questioning look, and I whispered, "Before I fell asleep, I did it again, and from what I know of avian birds, when they make this noise, known as a coo… it means they are enjoying themselves… and you were cooing…"

Her face morphed into anger and surprise, to guilt and embarrassment. Her feathers stood on end and she stood up and shuffled around and asked, "Well, are you alright?"

"Ye- wait… you knew already, didn't you?" I asked, as small smirk coming across my face as the skin under her feathers started to turn pink. She quickly stuttered out, "N-No I d-didn't…"

"Yes… you did." I was now smiling broadly, "Or you wouldn't be acting like that…" she looked at me again, but this time a hint of anger was in her eyes. When she opened her beak, I suddenly cringed as I felt a pain searing from my chest and move outwards. The anger dimmed from her eyes as concern took over, and when I looked down at my chest, I could see blue sparks moving over my shirt, and as blackness started to cover my vision again, I couldn't help but growl in pain, and I felt like I was becoming smaller, or the pebble between my shoulders was becoming bigger. I groaned in more pain as blackness started to take over my vision, and i heard a gasp as weight was removed from the top of my body, and everything went dark…

**A.N.: Hey, tell me what you thought of this chapter in a review, ok? I was going to make it shorter, but nah, I couldn't do that, woulda shaved 500 words off. Hey, here's a heads up… expect romance b4 they reach the tree… XD**

**I'm a sucker for writing romance fanfics… if it wasn't for me having school tomorrow, I would have typed the next chapter up…**


	5. Feelings Revealed

**Chapter 5: Feelings Revealed**

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

When I woke up, I felt all tingly and everything sounded so much clearer. _What happened? Why do I feel so… strange…?_ I tried to open my eyes, but I was still too tired to even move them. I could feel a stream of energy being restored into my body, but it still wasn't enough, so instead I tried to relax and wait until I could do simple things; like open my eyes.

When I did manage to open my eyes, I noticed a few trees hanging high above me with the pitch black sky above them. Everything seemed so open and bright, not like it was really night time. That's when I noticed the stars; there were so many, all of them twinkling with a curious beauty to them. I sat up a little bit, but fell backwards when someone latched themselves onto my chest. I felt like I was being hugged, but it was a different kind of hug; instead of the rough fabric of clothing, I felt something soft and cushiony. I looked down and saw the owls face I had helped looking at me with watery eyes, but that's not what caused me concern; my body consisted of feathers now.

"Are those m-my… feathers?" I asked shakily.

She looked down at my feathers and quickly backed away. Her feathers rose up as she looked away and said, "Yes… I don't know how, but now you… look like me. You're an Eagle Owl also now…"

I looked down and saw the mixture of browns and pale tan on my body, mixed with a few of her feathers. I stood up, since the conversation had given me enough time to regain most my energy now. Taking her feather out from mine, I walked up to her, and held the feather up to her chest. _It has to be hers; it's a near perfect match…_

She looked down at her feather also before quickly swiping it away turning around, this time a few of the feathers on her wings rose up also. "Hey kid, come over here." I turned around and saw the brown owl with black spots along his back looking at me, while the one with a black stripe was still sleeping. I slowly walked over to him as I heard the female owl behind me sigh, with what sounded relief.

When I was standing near him, he asked, "How you feeling, not too nauseous are you?"

Shaking my head, I replied, "Not too much… sorry, but what was your name?"

The larger owl chuckled softly before saying, "My name is Wolf, used to be in the U.S. air force before I came here," I felt my mouth, err, beak drop open as he chuckled, "and sleeping beauty here is Tyler, also a pilot, but he got here involuntarily. Now, your friend over there, her name is Shana. She seems to have a… never mind, you will find out in due time. Now, what is your name?"

I closed my beak before opened it again, and said, "M-My name is Simon."

"Well Simon, I guess I should teach you how to fly then. Are you ready to begin?"

After he finished, I felt a smile plaster on my beak as I nodded and said, "I've been ready!"

* * *

We were currently resting at a lake that had been nearby, and as I stared into the water, I was admiring my reflection. When I noticed a feather sticking out the wrong way, I grabbed it with my wing and pulled it out; it was one of Shana's. I looked behind me, and a few feet away, I saw Shana watching me with a sort of curious and thoughtful expression. I chuckled as I held up a feather, and I laughed when she noticed it and started to do the owl equivalent of a blush. "It's alright Shana, I won't tell anybody…" I winked after I said that before setter the feather down and gazing back over the lakes shimmering surface.

_Let's see… I'm an owl, I have owl friends, I was a human, and I have ex-human owl friends. Yeah, sure, everything seems normal, not mentioning I can understand animals also now. I don't care how weird and illogical this all is, I'm enjoying myself, and it's not like I have a family to miss me… well, not a biological family anyways. I wonder if I will be able to live the rest of my life- _I didn't finish the thought as I felt myself fall forward and I fell into the cold lake, shattering the flawless surface.

When I had reached to surface, I quickly clambered back onto the warm grass, and laid down; panting from the sudden soaking. I looked up and saw Wolf and Tyler looking towards me with startled expressions, and Shana was looking at me with an innocent blank expression, but I could see the laughter in her eyes all too clearly. I sighed as I stood up, and looked at my body, with my wings out-stretched. I snapped my wings down, and flung some water off me, but I still had lots in my feathers still.

I looked up towards Shana, but she was looking away, so I turned towards Wolf with a pleading look and asked, "Do you have a towel?"

Tyler chuckled as Wolf shook his head with a smile on his beak. Wolf walked towards me and said, "We don't have towels here, instead, we clean ourselves with our beaks. Watch…" Wolf dipped the tip of his wing into the lake, and when he took it back out, he brought it to his beak, and shoved how to clean in of water; he basically lightly bit down and pulled his beak through his feathers. When he had finished, and his wingtip was dry and shiny, he said, "That's how you do it, now go ahead and get started…"

Sighing, I walked over to Shana and asked, "Can you help me dry myself, so I can be done quicker?" She blushed madly, and Wolf and Tyler both busted up laughing loudly, while the former fell down on his back. I looked over at them and asked, "What is it?"

"Um… HAHA… w-well, I'll let Shana explain it Simon..." Wolf said, then looked at the now chuckling Tyler and said, "Man… that was good!" I looked back towards Shana just as I felt her beak moving through my wing feathers, and I shivered from the feeling. I looked over towards her and saw her blushing a deep shade of red, and I asked, "Um… Shana, why is it, um, embarrassing for you to help dry my feathers?"

Instead of an answer, she pulled away, looked into my eyes before turning away and fluttering up into a tree. I sighed as I turned my head away from her and started to dry my feathers and individual quills. It was easy, but there were so many, and that was what took so much time. "Hey, Simon," I looked behind me and saw Tyler spreading his wings while Wolf was facing me, "Tyler and I are going hunting, we will be back soon. If you see any Pure Ones, hide yourself and Shana…" As soon as Tyler took off, so did he, leaving me with a few questions. I shook my head before going back to drying myself.

I was nearing completion, and all that wasn't dry was a few of the feathers on my wing, _I should go up and talk to Shana, I may have only known her for a day or two, but I _do _know she doesn't usually act like that._

_ But what if she doesn't want to talk?_

_ Either way, being a friend means helping her out._

_ Then again, what if she doesn't see me as a… _friend_?_

_ If she doesn't, then I guess I can always try to become her friend, or possibly better friends._

_ Might as well go know then…_ And with my mind now made up, I turned towards the tree she was on, and silently flew up to it and landed softly on the branch next to her. Just as I turned to look at her, she looked towards me. She seemed about to turn away, but as I stepped slightly closer, I asked, "What is it Shana?" She gave me a quizzical expression, and I said, "When I couldn't understand you, everything seemed so much clearer, but now that I can; you seem to be uncertain on everything now, pacifically around me."

She shifted a bit on her feet, but when she looked back up at me, I saw a twinkle in her eyes. Just when she opened her beak though, that twinkle vanished, and instead, she closed her beak and started to turn the other way. I grabbed her wing with mine and pulled her closer to me accidently, but I ignored the fact that we were extremely closer to each other, and said, "Hey, I'm your friend here Shana, I _will_ help you out anyway that I can."

Shana looked down at our wings, and when she lifted her head back up towards mine, I was surprised when she pushed her beak forwards and connected it with mine. I was frozen as she slowly wrapped her wings around my body, and shocked when I felt myself doing the same, but pressing my beak further into the… kiss.

_This feels so great, I don't want this to end, but is this even right? I have only known her for a day basically…_

She slowly started to pull her beak away from our kiss, and when she had finally broken it, she pressed the bridge of her beak against mine, and as I opened my eyes, I saw hers were still closed, but she was breathing slowly and heavily. When she opened her beak, her silky voice whispered, "I have been wanting to do that ever since you saved me, but I didn't know how, or if it was even right." She blinked open her eyes, and was gazing deeply into mine once more and said, "But when you turned into an owl like me, an Eagle Owl, I didn't know what else to think, except that, well, you looked quite handsome…"

I pulled away slightly and looked her over and said, "I can't really tell about you, but compared to the only other female owl I know of, you look absolutely amazing." Shana blushed as I said that, but I pressed my beak gently across hers, still unsure of where I stand. When she pressed her beak harder into mine, I could faintly make out the sound of something beating, so I dismissed it as just my heart beating hard.

Someone landed behind me and I pulled away from the kiss, but Shana kept her eyes closed as she leaned into my feathers. Without moving away from her, I said, "What is it Wolf?"

A dark and sinister chuckle game from behind me, and I heard a deep voice say, "There is no Wolf here young'un… now, tell us how you know Wolf and we might just not kill you, and you're little, mate…"

Slowly, I turned around and gasped at what I saw; 2 large owls. One had on a large metal mask, and I could see burn scars running across his body, and the other one, was a stunning white owl with a red 'V' running down its head. I walked backwards slowly, keeping Shana behind me as I felt my blood run cold, and I muttered, "Y-You!"

**A.N.: BANG… Chapter 5. Hope you all enjoyed.**


	6. Unexpected Events

**Chapter 6: Unexpected Events**

**(Shana's P.O.V.)**

"Y-You!" Simon muttered as he slowly pushed me backwards. I looked towards the owls he was backing away from, and I shuddered as my heart began to pound even harder. These owls radiated power, and they seemed to be cloaked with misfortune and evilness as they stared back at him. We finally reached the trunk of the tree, and Simon said, "You will have to go through me before you can lay a bloody talon on her!"

The dark red owl chuckled sinisterly as the white barn owl made her way forward and said, "Very well then." Simon shifted his weight and had one talon in front of the other as she slowly made her way forward. When she was halfway to us, he spit out, "I should've killed you two when I killed those other two owls." This stopped the white barn owl from coming closer, and the red owl seemed to grow larger as he said, "Do not dare play fool, we know what killed those soldiers," he seemed to look Simon over, "and it definitely isn't something as weak as _you_."

I looked between the two evil owls and tried to hide further behind Simon as he said, "You wouldn't be saying that if I was a human… that's it!"

Before anyone could say anything, or I could protest, Simon turned around and wrapped his wings around my body tightly, and jumped off the branch sideways…

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

_This had better work, or I just condemned death to Shana and I… HUMAN, THINK HUMAN! _We were approaching the ground faster now, but I felt a tickling sensation, and soon I was falling down with my feet towards the ground, and an owl wrapped around in my arms. I opened my eyes, which I didn't know I closed, and I saw the ground getting closer fast. I unwrapped one of my arms from Shana, and used the other one to support her entire body and press her against mine, and I bent my knees and angled my feet.

Just as my feet connected with the ground, I rolled my ankles and bent my knees during the initial impact. I held my open hand palm down, and just as I was all the way bent down, my elbow bent as I allowed my hand to absorb the remaining shock. I took a deep breath in just as my motion ended, and I felt stiffness in my ankles. I tried to stand up, but just as I did, a loud **SHLIISH-POP** echoed around the tree line, and I yelled in pain as I rolled over onto my back. It had felt like my bone had shifted, but when it had popped back into place, I felt a sharp pain erupt from that entire area of my leg.

"Ahhh!" I rolled over, but kept all pressure off of Shana, and when I was on my back, my backpack was keeping me up, and my shotgun was also along it, the cold metal of my ax was there to, and then there was the pistol along my hip. I let go of Shana, and as she clambered off of me, she was standing next to me, but looking at the owls above us.

I slipped my backpack off, and reached inside of it; I know that my pain would render any gun useless since my aim would be off. I remembered a time I had played around with this, and nearly torched my wall, and another time I nearly set my arm on fire. I took out my canister of Axe and the lighter. I painfully sat up straight, "Shana, back up."

When she quickly got behind me, the two owls above opened their wings, and I flickered the lighter so I had my flame, and adjusted the output so it was a tall flame. I brought my axe can up, and squeezed down as hard as I could. **SWOOOOOSH** was all I heard as a bright and hot flame shot towards the owls, and as they screeched in panic, I heard two screeches further away. I glanced away just as the heat and light was hurting my eyes, and I saw Wolf and Tyler racing towards us, but they had three large rat-like things in their battle claws as they flew towards us.

More screeching filled into my ears, and through the fire, the red owl, now coated in fire flew overhead and towards the lake. I stopped holding down on the cologne's sprayer, and the air instantly cooled as it became darker, but the image of the darker owls' appearance remained in my mind. It was full of so much hate and anger; it contrasted with the flames licking at his helmet and feathers hungrily. He seemed like the actual living devil flying while his eyes glowed a fiery red.

"SIMON! HELP!" I turned around and saw the white owl flying towards Shana dangerously fast, and she had her metal claws angled towards Shana. There wasn't enough time for me to re-light my lighter, so I instead threw my body over hers, and soon felt the searing pain of claws cutting through my back.

"Tyler, stay low, I'm going to shoot them if I can!" I heard Wolf's voice yell out. I soon heard what sounded like running getting closer, and just as I was about to look up, I felt the pistol being removed from its Hollister at my hip. The sound of the slide came to my ears, and as I lightly slumped down, gunshots sounded above me, and I could see the shells landing on the ground nearby; one rolled under me and near Shana.

Shana was about to grab it with her talons, but I quickly pushed it away with my fingernail, and said, "They are extremely hot after you shoot them, so never touch one until you are sure it is cooled down… Oh… owww…" I groaned in pain as the cold air started to seep into my wounded back, _that's gonna leave a mark…_ I heard Wolf saying, "Focus on an owl Simon, just focus on an owl…" _ok… an owl, like Shana… an owl, Eagle owl…_

I felt myself growing smaller, and when I was completely in the form of an owl, I noticed I was on top of something, so I opened my eyes and say Shana blushing as she was looking up into my eyes. I chuckled and decided to make some humor from this, and said, "Why, hello there…"

I heard a muffled giggle as she looked the other way, but I slowly got off of her, and slid down onto the ground next to her, letting my wings sprawl out as I let my body relax as much as I could finally. "Tyler, watch out for those two, I'm going to patch up Simon. Hold on kid…"

I chuckled lightly, but I heard a feminine gasp, and I opened my eyes and turned my head to see Shana looking down at me with pain-filled eyes. "I'm going to be alright… I have been through worse…"

"Yeah, sure you have kid… oh, sorry." Shana instantly grew dismayed as she came closer to me, but I felt coldness slice through my back as something cold dribbled into my feathers, along with a slight rubbing pressure. I groaned louder in pain, I heard Wolf speak over my groaning as he said, "Shana, I hate to ask you this, but can you preen his feathers while I get the vole ready?"

When Shana nodded, she bent over my back, and I could feel the soothing sensation of her running her beak through my feathers. I sighed as I felt myself slowly relaxing even more, until I was lightly sleeping, the occasional stab of pain keeping me away from deep slumber.

…

Shana, Wolf, Tyler and I were sitting around a small fire Wolf had made with my lighter, "Wolf, are you sure you're not hungry?"

"For the last time Tyler, you can have the Vole, I ate on the way here." Every time he said that, Tyler would lightly scoff. I nodded and was about to take a bite, but I heard a stomach rumble, and I looked up towards Wolf as he frowned, and I tossed the vole over to him.

"You should have it Wolf," I knew he was going to make a remark, so I had intentionally set him up, just as he was about to reply I said, "Besides, if Kludd and Nyra show up, you will be the one to fight them." Wolf grumbled before saying, "Alright, just don't come crying to us that you're hungry…"

I chuckled before a thought came to my mind, and I asked, "Wait… why did you only get three voles then?"

"Uh… I couldn't find another one…" Wolf barely said.

"He yelled when a spider nearly got him, scaring away anything else we could get…" Tyler quickly said. It earned him a glare from Wolf, who had just picked up the Vole. I sighed as I sat down; wishing I could lie down, but owls apparently weren't allowed to sleep at night, especially on a night like tonight; a full moon.

A small nudging against my wing made me look to my side, and Shana was looking at me and said, "You can share my vole." I looked down before looking back up into her eyes, "no, no, I will b-" I was cut off when she placed her wing on my beak, and she said, "I insist, it is the least I can do, you _did_ save my life twice now…"

I sighed and asked, "Ok, so how do we do it, do we cut it with one of the metal claws, or what?"

Shana smiled as her feathers slightly rose up. "Grab half of it with you beak… and then I will do the rest." I smiled nervously, but I did as instructed. She smiled as she brought her face closer to mine, and she grabbed the other half with her beak, and clamped down. I heard the spine crack, and as the flesh tore, I held down my gag, thinking this was natural for owls. When she pulled away, I began to eat my half of the vole just as she did also.

When we had finished, I couldn't suppress my yawn, and both Tyler and Shana saw it. Tyler stood up and said, "Alright everybody, it is about to be dawn, so we should start heading to sleep. Everyone should be perched somewhere in that tree. I will be near the top, good light."

He flew up towards the crown of the tree, along with Wolf following his lead soon after. I looked over at Shana, she looked back at me, but when I saw her feathers rising up; she turned away and muttered, "Good light Simon," and she soon was flying up towards the tree. _Well, I guess I will get the fire…_

After I had kicked enough dirt onto the fire, I spread my wings and started to fly up towards a branch on the tree. With every flap, I felt pain spear through my wounds, but I quietly made it to a place I could sleep for the night. It was a nice little nook between a large branch near the trunk, so I could easily lay down. After a few bits of fidgeting, I managed to get comfortable, and started to drift into a well needed slumber…

…

"Simon… Simon…" I heard a hushed voice talking to me as I was slowly awakening, and I felt myself rub against the tree branch as someone gently pushed my wing. I cracked open one of my eyes, and glanced at who had woken me up, my beak fell open when I saw; her. My heart jumped to my throat as Shana was looking down at me, with morning sun's rays splashing across the back of her feathers, casting a reddish halo to surround the area around her. I blinked my eyes as I closed my beak and swallowed hard. I continued to look up at her, "Y-y-yes?"

"May I sleep with you…?" _No… wait, sleep. Curse my imaginative mind… bad mind, bad bad…_

I felt my facial feathers rise as I grew warm in my face. I nodded my head as I swallowed again. She slowly came closer, and I smiled nervously as she laid next to me, but on her stomach. She looked at me from the corner of her eye briefly before she scooted closer. I tensed up when I felt her body connecting with mine, but I relaxed slightly as I felt her shiver. _I guess she wasn't expecting the contact as well…_

I closed my eyes as I felt myself growing tired again, but I felt Shana shiver again. I opened my eyes and saw how tight her feathers were to her body, _she must be cold._ I unfolded one of my wings, shifted onto my side, so now my back was against the tree trunk, and slowly draped it over her smaller form. Instantly I felt her shivering stop as her body relaxed. "Thank you Simon…" I smiled as I closed my eyes and pulled her closer; not knowing she had just set me up. I took in a deep breath as my beak was in her feathers, which smelled like pine needles and morning rain, and sighed as I slowly felt myself falling asleep…

**A.N.: How was this chapter? Was it good, horrible, unexpected, expected, what? I started this as soon as I updated the last chapter, and I waited a few days, decided to let you all wait for another chapter. XD I'm cruel, I know…**


	7. Ga'Hoole Tree

**Chapter 7: Ga'Hoole Tree**

**(Wolf's P.O.V.)**

"Ha-ha… well isn't that sweet?" I whispered as I quietly churred. Tyler and I were smiling as we looked down into a nook near the tree's trunk; Shana was cuddled into Simon's body, and he was inches away from kissing her beak, even in his sleep. An idea popped into my head that would be absolutely amazing, and when I looked over towards Tyler, I felt my smile broaden as he looked over to me also. He churred some more quietly and he said, "I know that smile, what you planning Wolf…?"

I slowly walked down towards them and walked up behind Shana as she slept, and I held my wing over the tow of them, and pointed my wing tip between their beaks. Tyler chuckled a little bit louder, and as I slowly prepared myself, I was directly behind Shana now, and as I took in a deep breath, I opened my beak and shouted, "WAKE UP SLEEPING BEAUTIES!"

While Simon jumped, he could only shoot his eyes open in surprise, and Shane jumped away from me and into Simon, and the magic happened; their beaks connected. I fell backwards and churred loudly as Shana continued to press into the kiss, and Tyler's eyes widened as he continued to watch them. All I could see was Simon's eyes moving around frantically, and Shana pressing into him still… as I continued to churr, I walked over to Tyler quickly, and I doubled over churring again, but Tyler soon picked me up and turned me around. What I saw made my beak drop; Shana's eyes were closed, and her beak was open as she was kissing Simon, whose beak was also open. I choked before I started laughing even harder, and this is what caused Shana to pull away from Simon. While Shana looked towards the tree, Simon looked towards us as he gasped in breaths of air; both had their feathers rising quite high.

Tyler was the first to stop, and as he stopped churring, he said out loud, "Wish Outillisa would kiss me in the morning like _that._" This caused me to start laughing even harder, but when I fell backwards, I fell off the tree, but before I fell too far, I landed in something sticky and strong. I looked up and yelled bloody murder, **"SPIDER!"**

Tyler looked over the edge and saw the same hairy beast I was looking at, and he made a weird noise as he shivered violently. I looked down, and saw a branch sticking out from the trunk, and when I gripped it, I started to beat my wings furiously, and I heard the web literally coming off of my body. I looked over, and saw the spider charging towards me. I yelled again as I flapped harder, and when my wings finally pulled me free, I shot up and away from the best and landed next to Tyler and gasped as I continued to look around.

My breathing stopped, and as I continued my search, my blood was becoming colder, and colder, until I finally couldn't help it, "Sp-sp-sp… **SP-SPIDERS!"** I yelled out, and shot away from the tree also…

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

I had awoken to a loud noise, and then soon after I had such a pleasure when I was being kissed, but I didn't recognize it was shale, who had tried practically tongue tying me. Now, as Wolf shot away from the tree screaming about spiders, I saw Tyler's face turn a pasty muddy brown, and he to shot away. I looked up, and saw _dozens_ of spiders looking down at us. I felt my skin crawl as I looked at Shana and said, "Let's go!" and I shot away also. I was flapping my wings, but I only heard mine. I looked back, and saw Shana staring up at the spiders as the slowly lowered themselves to her area, but she didn't move one bit.

Sighing explosively, I turned around, and shot back, and quickly grabbed Shana in my talons, and pulled her away just as the first hairy demon started to crawl towards us. The extra strain started to hurt me where Nyra had dug her claws in. I saw a tree across from us where Tyler and Wolf were both perched, and they were looking at us. I flew towards them but I dropped Shana, but she started to fly as soon as she left my talons. I looked down at her, and as she bent her head backwards, she smiled and flew up towards me.

While she looked at me, she asked, "Would my hero like another kiss?"

I felt my feathers rise after she said that, and I asked, "Did you stay there on purpose?"

This time it was she, who blushed, and she flew closer to me, just under my wing, and as we neared Wolf and Tyler, I felt my heart skip a beat. Shana had just kissed me while we were flying, and this time I had actually kissed back. I looked downwards again as she smirked, but soon Tyler and Wolf were in front of us saying, "WE should keep moving instead of staying here, we still have an angry Metalbeak and Nyra to deal with should they bring their army…"

"Where will we go? If they will try to attack us no matter what, then we have nowhere to go…" Shana said. They smiled towards us, and Wolf said, "We are Guardians of Ga'Hoole… we live in a giant tree…"

Shana seemed to grow bigger as she also became excited, but instead of letting it out, she kept it in, and as we flew on, I couldn't help but smile as I thought of our kiss. And then when I thought about it really, I frowned, _what does she see me as? Am I her friend, Best friend, Boyfriend…? And what if she is just in heat? Well, it's not spring, it is summer, late summer at that, so it can't be because of that… so what is it, it can't be because I saved her life as she said, I was hardly doing that…_

When a few birds flew past my vision, I came back too, and saw a sea before us, and I remembered seeing it in the plane before that horrible crash. I sighed as I looked over at my companions, and took note of who they were. Wolf was a spotted owl with black spots along his entire back, headstrong and seemed to enjoy a good time, no matter the circumstances. Tyler was a serious owl that had a white stripe running up his middle, seemed to be best friends with Wolf. I'm an Eagle Owl like Shana, except I don't have anything except my wits and being able to shape shifter.

Finally, the one that was causing me to feel so many mixed emotions was also the one that I had 'saved' from some rude crows, and from spiders. I had gotten to preen myself in front of her, and she had preened me also. I had slept with her and fought for her, and yet all she did was show me love and affection I don't believe I deserve. She hadn't revealed her reasons, but I had only suspicions, and I was usually correct when I thought I was. I was gambling it was a mixture of how I'm naturally nice and caring with my personality, along with how I looked in her eyes as an owl. I smirked as I remembered how she had first looked at me, but I frowned when I remembered how I had ended up here.

"There she is, a mighty big tree if I do say myself. Oh, we are still a ways off from it; trust me, but that is it…" Wolf was now rambling off on how he first thought of the tree when he had seen it, but I was just gapping at the tree as continued to fly. _It is so… huge! It may seem small now, but if what Wolf says is true, and it is still far away, I can't wait to see it up and close…_

_ "_Now, when we get closer, a fog will most likely blow in, and you will need to fly with us if you wish to reach it safely, do you understand?" I heard Tyler say. I looked at him and nodded. "Ok, well, fall in behind us; it will make it easier for you to fly since you are still relatively new to flying.

**A.N.: Ok, here is my next chapter. The more reviews I get, the faster I will update, so you may want to review fast, because I'm going to be gone for 2 weeks in 9 days, so you all have 5 days to motivate me to write more, or it will be over 23 days before the next update. XD better review…**


	8. Fog Victims

**Chapter 8: Fog Victims**

**(Shale's P.O.V.)**

Just as Tyler had warned, a fog had blown in when we were almost to the tree. Wolf and Tyler had slown down, but Simon and I were still flying a lot slower than we wanted to. I swiveled my head until I saw the hazy form of Simon flying a little bit higher than me; so I angled my feathers to my port and down, causing me to slowly glide towards him. When his form wasn't so hazy, he stopped and looked at me, and when I stopped to hover next to him, he asked, "Where did Wolf and Tyler go?"

"They were just right… there…" my voice trailed off when I didn't notice them anymore. I quickly faced Simon and went as close as I possibly could while still maintaining flight. While I gazed into his eyes, I realized just how silent it was, with only our wings creating noise, and as I felt my heartbeat rise and my breathing become irregular, I felt myself getting more frightened by the prospect of being lost out here forever. "Simon… I'm scared…" just as I finished, all feeling, and thoughts, ceased, and I plummeted as I went yeep.

"SHALE!" I managed to hear Simon yell, and I watched as he dove towards me, and blackness slowly started to cover the edges of my vision…

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

"SHALE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, and I did as I had seen other large birds do, and folded my wings and angled myself towards her falling form. _What's wrong, why did she just stop flying? I will _not_ let her get hurt from this, or I won't forgive myself… EVER…_

The wind was whipping past my face and I was slowly drawing closer… I thought I was going to be able to catch her until I saw the sea behind her approaching fast. "NO!" I opened my wings and flapped them harder than I ever thought possible, and time seemed to slow down while I was getting closer to Shale.

The Third flap I just grazed the edge of her body as the sea continued to rush towards us.

Flap four drug me ever closer, and when I tried to grab Shale, my wing barely drug across her chest. _NO, I'm too close to lose her now, I won't miss again, I can't afford to…_

On the fifth flap, I had just wrapped my wings around her feathery mass when I managed to flip us so she was on top of me. I just felt the cold embrace of death… er… water when time seemed to return to normal and I was soon sputtering underwater for air. I felt Shale slipping, so I tightened my grip around her as I felt myself slowly… to slowly… drifting towards the surface.

Blackness started creeping along my view when I broke the surface of the water and I was feeling highly stressed when I turned my tunnel vision towards the unconscious form of the reason I was in the water, and instantly smiled. I locked the muscles in my wings as I felt myself drifting to join her, _I wonder what will happen now…_ was my last thought before I drifted off into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

**(Wolf's P.O.V.)**

"So, do you think he will fall for her?" I finally asked, a silence had been over us for at least thirty minutes now.

"Given time, he will certainly… but if he is kept being pushed by your joking attitude, I believe it may in fact place a wedge in their relationship." I looked over at Tyler when he finished, and he looked back at me, "When he gets embarrassed enough… and he will… I believe he will try to actually distance himself from her. Haven't you noticed he is still barely a young adult, I doubt he is twenty yet, even if he has the mind of one. If he did do that though, not only would you be breaking her heart practically, but you will be the cause of them being limited to seeing each other."

I looked back forward, with guilt slowly crawling its way into my gizzard, "I guess I didn't really think of it that way… so, like, no jokes anymore or what?"

Tyler sighed as he continued flying, "What you did tonight was fine, just I know how you get carried away sometimes; that's why Spot had you sleep outside before."

I shuddered when I remembered that day, and how Spot had… overreacted… to the joke. I had hidden a small amount of gunpowder across the entrance, and after she had entered, I set it off. The way she spun around and yelled was funny enough, until she turned around and saw me laughing; then I saw her true beauty, but in the form of anger instead. _Now that I think off it, I need to tell her something from that day; hopefully she is okay with it though…_

_ Ah… finally home, time to welcome the two lovebirds. _I turned around and said, "Welcome to the… uh…" I looked around for them, and all I saw was the open air, and the fog blowing away, and for the miles around the trees, no sign of either Simon or Shale. I turned around to see Tyler still flying forward, "TYLER!"

His head snapped towards me, and I yelled, "THERE GONE!" Tyler sped towards me, then flew past me, and said, "Get too the tree, tell them I stayed behind to do some reconnaissance while out!"

I watched as he was quickly flying away, and I turned back away, and flew towards the tree, at a much slower rate however. When I passed under the arch, I nodded to the sentries, but I looked back forward and quickened my pace back towards my hollow first.

**A.N.: this is extremely small for a chapter, I know, because in fact, this is THEE smallest chapter I have EVER written. Do not worry though, I just wanted to give you guys something to chew on; I'm currently working on the next chapter. When I post the next one, it won't be a small 1k chappie, so just read this, and enjoy.**

**P.S.: I learned how to make a double cliffy from another story I read ; ]**


	9. Filler

**Chapter 9: Filler**

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

_Ugh… where are we?_

Shana was still locked in my wings, something I was highly grateful for, but my wings had grown stiff since I had locked them. We were on a long sandy beach, near the edge of the forest, and when I twisted my tired head down, I saw the waves loping a few feet from us. _Must've been high tide when we washed up… and we must have drifted away from the center of the sea; that would explain the forest again._

Unwrapping my wings from Shana was painful, but I was glad to finally move them about again without the risk of Shale floating away or sinking. Everything was dry except the underside of my wings and Shana. I pushed myself away carefully, and moved until I could stand up; and with a breath, I shakily stood up.

When I nearly fell down, I wobbled around a bit, but I made sure I didn't collapse. I stretched my wings to their max and stretched one leg out, then repeated the process with the other one. I heard Shana groaning, and I was instantly by her side, and when she woke up, I sighed happily, and picked her up in a hug. "S-Simon… is that you? Where are we?"

I pulled back and looked into her dazzling eyes, and nearly kissed her, _Stop… remember, you're a human, she's an owl… big difference. _I chuckled quietly, and did another mental thought to check how wrong that would've been, "First of all, of course it is me, like I would abandon you when you fell. Secondly, I think we are back near the forest; I see lots of trees and stuff." I said as I looked up and towards the tree line. I snapped my head back in her direction, and I frowned as I asked, "And now that we are safe… why did you just let yourself fall like that? You could have died!"

After I finished, I realized how harsh I had sounded, and quickly noticed the tears starting to form in her eyes. She continued to look into my eyes for a few seconds, until she turned her head away, but not before a few tears made their ways down her facial disk. I sighed as I pulled her into a hug again to try and fix what I did, and I felt her wings slowly wrap around me also. I gently pulled her up until she was partially standing, and mostly leaning onto me. _I know why she is upset, but she honestly doesn't understand how dangerous and stupid that was… I had barely reached her when we entered the water. From what I felt when she preened my feathers, and the way Wolf and Tyler had acted, then doing that act may cheer her up._

Slowly, I pulled my head away from her shoulder, and started to preen the feathers along her neck. I was extremely diligent to notice everything she did when I started; such as her subtle movements, then her laying her head on my body, her slowed heart rate, and the sigh that escaped from her. The movements I was doing seemed to comfort her, so I continued to preen her in small strips down her neck.

I had thought she had fallen asleep, but she slightly startled me when she pulled away and looked back into my eyes. "I was scared Simon… I thought we were going to be stuck in that fog… forever… so I went… yeep."

The feeling in my face lost all emotion as I thought over what she said; _did she just say… _yeep_? Must be an owl term…_

She reapplied pressure to my body as she hugged me tighter, and she laid her head across my shoulder and whispered, "I'm sorry… can you forgive me Simon?"

Tightening my own wings, I sighed as I said, "I can't stay mad at you for long Shana… I lo-" Shana pulled her head away from my shoulder just as I caught myself; "…I like you too much." _AW… this just makes me feel a ton worse now…_

The sparkling had dimmed in her eyes, and it was now watered down as she shifted her gaze downwards. _Good thing I didn't finish that… I need to think before I say things more often. _Shana looked back up, and now she had a smile plastered across her beak, _uh oh… what does that smile mean?_

"You were going to say you love me, weren't you?" I shifted and tried to pull away, but Shana tightened her wings around mine. "Um… uh…" _why can't I say anything!_

"That must have been what you meant," she brought her beak closer to mine and gazed intensely into my eyes. "Or else you wouldn't be acting like this. Now, I want to hear you say it yourself…"

_Oh no… what have I gotten myself into? It isn't like I can just walk away; morally or physically… and I can't just ignore her, I lo-…_ I blinked at her as my mind took a spin into a different direction. _Do I… love her? I keep almost saying it, so I must, but, is it even right? Can I really… actually… love her? It wasn't love at first sight, so it can actually be true love, instead of those fictional 'love at first sight' tales._ The pressure on my wings was slowly lessening, just as Shana's smile was falling, _their can't be anything wrong with it… it's not like I know anyone that would make fun of me because of it… except Wolf._ Shana sniffled just as a tear was threatening to cascade down her cheek. _Ok, main things first before she cries… considering everything we have been through, and how she is… I guess… NO, I know… that I… love her…_

"Never mind Simon… sorry I brought it up…" She said just as I made my mind up, and she released me and turned around.

"No." I said, trying to get her to stop, but instead, she looked at me with pained and angry eyes, and took off flying. Stunned, I stood there for a few seconds before taking off after her. _Guess she didn't understand me… and boy, she is a fast flier!_ I was flapping the hardest I could, and I was only able to stay a few feet behind her. "Shana, stop!"

She ignored me, or either didn't hear me, but I heard a faint calling, and I looked over my shoulder and saw either Tyler or Wolf racing over the sea after us. "Simon!" it was faint, but still audible to me. I looked back forward just as a tree flew by my view, and I saw Shana looking back as well, with tears rolling down her face. She opened her beak and yelled, "Just go with Tyler, I'm sure they won't care that you don't have a love!"

_Wait! That must mean… she loves me!_ I flapped slightly harder, and felt the pain flaring up in my back. "SHANA! Please, stop!"

"NO!" I heard her yell back.

Instead of slowing down for Tyler, I sped up, pain filling every flap and breath I took. I was soon right above Shana, so I wrapped my wings around hers as she flapped down, and I heard her gasp in surprise. We started to lose altitude fast, and I positioned my tail feathers do we would do a hard spiral. When I fixed my tail feathers until they were smooth, I braced myself for a painful crash, with me underneath.

Pain shot through my back, causing me to growl in agony as my cuts reopened. As we continued to drag across the ground, I tightened my grip around Shana too much, and I caused her to whimper out just as we came to the stop. "Gawd dammit that hurt!" I groaned out as I felt my wings slacken. The sound of my heart beating was loud in my ears, but I heard flapping over that.

Through the pain, I cracked my eyes open, and saw Tyler coming into a landing near us, and below that, I saw the tear filled eyes of Shana looking at me. I smiled at her, and saw the faintest traces of a smile coming onto her beak, but when she shifted; I winced in pain. What traces of her smile vanished as Tyler walked up and looked down at us, "Care to explain why you didn't stop when you two hear me calling?"

Shana looked up at him and muttered a few unintelligible things, but I bit down on the pain and said, "First of all, I was too busy chasing this lady here… secondly, we had a misunderstanding," Shana scoffed at this, but I continued, "and finally, this is off subject," I looked down into Shana's eyes and finished, "The things I would do for love…"

After I had said that, she opened her beak, and then closed it again. She did that a few times, and every time not a sound would escape. I smiled and said, "Yeah… you just didn't let me fini-_AHHH!_" The pain that erupted from my back caused me to writher in pain as dirt made its way into my cut, causing a painful burning and stabbing sensation to crawl through my back. The stinging was horrible as it continued its way up my spine and towards my neck and down to my talons and across my wings. "Shana, get off, quick now! Help me turn him over; we need to clean his back as quick as possible. I saw a pond further back, hurry and go get some water so I can begin cleaning his cuts!" I heard Tyler say as I was rolled over. I cringed as the cuts stretched while I was being rolled over, but I sighed in relief once all pressure dissipated and I was once again only gripped my faint traces of stabbing pain.

While the flapping was slowly becoming less and less audible, I felt things being removed from my back as I was lying there…

* * *

**(Wolf's P.O.V.)**

_Please don't be mad; please don't be mad, for the love of Gluax, PLEASE DON'T BE MAD!_ I thought furiously as I entered my hollow. I closed my eyes just as I entered, but when I didn't hear anything, I slowly cracked one eye open; and didn't see anything. I opened my eyes and relaxed and walked deeper into the hollow, "Hmm… guess I'm safe."

_Might as well go to the parliament and report…_

As I turned around to make my way back outside, I nearly jumped out of my feathers as I saw Spot standing there, the moon at her back, looking at me with a happy and curious gaze, "Safe from what Wolf?"

I swallowed hard as I backed up slightly, "Uh… ummm… I don't know?" _Ah snap… I should've thought of something better than that!_

"I saw you and Tyler get back, so I decided to come greet you at the parliament hollow, but you never showed up. Also, where is Tyler? Outillisa has wanted to ask him something."

"Uh, uh… what did she want to ask?"

"I don't really know, she wouldn't tell me. Now then, what are you doing back here?" Spot asked as she slowly started to walk her way up to me. It was no secret that Spot loved me, but we never dared try and make it into more than the 'Best Friends'. She was always finding ways to express her love to me, and on a few occasions, other owls that would first meet us would think we were mates.

"I was… coming to see _you_ before I went and talked to the parliament." _Oh, nice, now, just to find a way out of this mess._

"Aw, that is sweet Wolf. Now, how about we go and deliver your report now?"

_… I might as well spill the beans, better she find out now rather than later… and in a crowded area also…_

"Um, Spot, dear…?" I asked, hoping that making her feel all gushy would lessen her… anger… "Can you keep a secret for now?"

"Of course I can, but from whom?" Spot asked as she tilted her head.

I gulped as I opened my beak, and said, "Everyone, until Tyler gets back…" Spot's beak opened slightly, and I quickly said, "We found a survivor from the plane crash, that big metal bird thing, and as we were coming back to the tree, they got lost in the fog, and Tyler went back to find him… ah… and we also found another owl…"

Spot happy face morphed to confusion, then realization, and finally, anger. "Uh, did I ever tell you how beautiful you look when you are mad?"

**A.N.: This is longer, and I can say, the story is coming to a close… I see now how many gaps I left earlier in the story, and it is hurting me to make it all make sense now later on. This side story will mainly be as a supporting and helping factor in the main trilogy, which will also be up within this month, if not early next month. Also, sorry about the Chapters name… I couldn't really come up with anything…**

**Reviews appreciated!**


	10. Recovery

**Chapter 10: Recovery**

**(Tyler's P.O.V.)**

Now that I Simon was resting, Shana was relaxing next to him, and I was taking a breather from all my flying; I was recollecting all my thoughts. _Simon's back was clean again, Shana wasn't harmed in anyway, and I am hungry_. I chuckled at the last thought, and this caused Shana to stir and look away from Simon briefly. _I should go hunting so we can eat… but I need answers also… I'm going to need to carry that boy up into one of these tree's… or just high enough so he won't be attacked._

I stood up and stretched my wings as they popped in key areas, and I folded them back and started to walk closer to the two love birds. "I'm going to take Simon up into that tree, and we will be going hunting."

"Can't I ju-" Shana began, but I quickly cut her off, "No, because while we are hunting, you have some questions to answer…"

Her mood instantly dropped, but I didn't let it bug me too much as I walked over to Simon and gently nudged him until his eyes fluttered open, "This is going to hurt, but bear with me." With a few downward strokes, I was up and over Simon, and I gripped his wings with my talons tightly. I heard him moan in pain, but I was quickly rising upwards and towards a branch high in a tree with strong beats from my wings.

Setting Simon down onto the branch, I heard him lightly whimper as Shana landed next to him and wrapped a wing over his shoulders. I cleared my beak, and as they both looked at me, I said, "I will be going hunting, but Shana will be accompanying me… try not to attract attention Simon, we will be back soon." I turned around and flapped my wings and was soon flying upwards on a warm draft that was swirling around the tree's outer branches. I looked behind me and saw Shana flying upwards to join me, and when she was next to me, I set off at a decent pace around the trees closer to the ground, and I asked, "Now then… why was Simon chasing you when I arrived?"

I looked over at her just as she turned away, and she replied, "I was… upset at him?"

"And why was that?"

"I would pre-"

Before she was even looking at me, I interrupted, "Simon likes you."

Her head spun towards me so fast, I'm pretty sure it would've hurt if we weren't owls, and she asked, "And how do you know that?"

I chuckled heartily and looked at her and said, "I was like him once before Shana. Both before and after he turned into an owl like yourself… I know how he thinks, how he will most likely react, and most importantly, how to read his emotions."

_She just needs a push in the right direction, along with Simon, but I shouldn't have to do anything with him… now, since that is in her mind, she should be more willing to answer my other questions._ "What happened in the fog after you two separated from our group?"

Her face instantly turned to confusion at the change of subject, but I was looking forward, only watching out of my peripheral vision. I watched her expression suddenly morph into shame as she answered, "I got scared… and when I dwelt on it… I went yeep. I don't remember anything else after that except waking up on the shore next to Simon…"

I turned my head towards her but stopped when I heard a faint beating sound. I looked down and saw a plump vole scratching at the dirt as it was sniffing around. I focused on its movements as I angled my wings, and shot down towards it like a silent, speeding missile. It looked up just as I out-stretched my talons, and I broke its spine when it let out a frightened squeak, and it died instantly, suffering only moments of pain.

I rose back up until I was next to Shana again, and I said, "We will talk more later with Simon around… go ahead and take this back with you, I will be there shortly."

_Now… I have been craving something else as of late… maybe a squirrel will fill me up enough… or a baby rabbit…_

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

_ At least the pain is gone, so I think I will be able to fly tonight, if not tomorrow night…_ I had been leaning my back against a tree and was watching various birds flit by, not noticing me. My gaze drifted towards the end of the branch I was on, and I could see a leaf barely holding on, and it was lazily twirling around on its stem in the breeze. _Amazing how something as small and delicate as a leaf can distract one from the world, yet at other times it can also go unnoticed unless directly pointed out…_

I had fully awakened a few minutes after Shana and Tyler had left, and I had been waiting patiently. Suddenly, I felt a strange moving in my chest, a little bit above my stomach, and I saw Shana out of the corner of my eye. I turned towards her, but I felt my face contorting as the weird feeling kept going on. She smiled as she was carrying a large vole in her talons towards me, and I tried my best to smile back.

When she landed, she asked, "Why are you making that face Simon?"

"I ju-" I was cut off as I violently started choking, and I coughed roughly a few times as Shana stood there with a shocked expression stenciled across her face. With another mighty cough, I felt something leave my beak and plummet over the branch, and I started wheezing in breaths of air while I stood recovering. I looked over the side of the branch and asked, "What was _that_!"

Shana giggled next to me, and as I looked back at her, she smiled and said, "I'm guessing that was your first pellet… for a second I thought something was wrong with you."

I smiled at how she was apparently worried for me, and I asked, "So, how did you catch your vole?"

Shana looked away from me and lightly smiled as she said, "I didn't catch it, Tyler gave it to me," she looked back towards me and walked closer to me, "and it isn't my vole," I gave her a questioning look as she smiled more, "It is _our_ vole."

Chuckling, I looked her square in her eyes and said, "I'll be fine Shana, you will need it more than I will, I don't want to take away from your meal."

"This is too much for me Simon, just come share it with me, please?" Shana instantly tilted her head sideways, and as she was smiling, I couldn't turn and look away from the absolutely adorable sight before me. _For how she looks, and how I feel, I'm positive this will be alright, and more so for her since how much she likes me already…_

I nodded and when she smiled, I asked, "But first, can you come here?"

She started walking towards me as she said, "yes, but why?"

When she was standing in front of me, I smiled as I felt my face warming up, and I felt my facial feathers rising up as I said, "This is why."

I leaned forward, and wrapped my wings around her, and pulled her closer and planted my beak on hers and savored the feeling of pleasure during the kiss. Before I pulled away, I felt her wings wrap around my body and pull me closer to her. _OOOhhh… I like this, but she just gripped my back a little _too_ hard…_ I felt a tingling in my back, while a buzzing filled my head.

Shana removed her wings from my back, but she just slid them down until they were over mine. I didn't want the kiss to end yet, but I heard a pair of flapping wings, and Shana pulled away and sighed contentedly as I opened my eyes. Not a second later, she opened her eyes also, and I saw her facial feathers rising as she gazed into my eyes, and the sound of wings kept drawing closer. I coughed lightly and said, "I love you, Shana… but, we really should move before Tyler gets here."

She pecked me on the beak for a few seconds more before finally moving away, and when she had reached the Vole, I looked over towards where I heard the flapping but realized it was coming from behind the tree. I tried to calm myself down before Tyler reached us, since I felt like my face was on fire.

Tyler came flying around the trunk with two squirrels just as I felt my feathers lowering, and I took a quick glance at Shana, who was currently looking at me as her feathers were also going down. Chuckling, I leaned back against the tree trunk as Tyler landed, and he asked, "So how did you sleep Simon? You feel good enough to fly tomorrow night?"

I turned towards him, though my eyes lingered on Shana's for a while longer, which caused her to smile and look away shyly, and I said, "I slept great, no thanks to your flying though," Both Tyler and I laughed at this, "And I think I can fly tomorrow night, I don't have too much lingering pain."

"Well that is good news, now, would you like a squirrel?"

I looked down at the squirrels near his talons, and then I looked over at Shana who had a sort of disappointed look in her eyes, but I quickly faced Tyler and said, "Thanks, but no thanks… I was going to share with Shana again." When I finished, I saw a smile grace her face, and Tyler said, "Well, suit yourself. I will be perched near the top of the tree, we will leave at night fall… make sure you get some rest."

"Ok, we will." I replied.

I watched as he picked his two squirrels up in his beak, and when he lofted towards the crown of the tree, I looked at Shana, and saw a flash of some light streak through her eyes as she gazed at me thoughtfully. I chuckled when she sighed, and she picked up the vole and walked over towards me…

**(Wolf's P.O.V.)**

I was standing in front of the Council, with Spot standing near the entrance as they were all settling down. I looked towards King Boron as he slammed his gavel down and said, "Now that everyone is here, I believe Wolf's report is in order."

When he was finished, I chuckled nervously and glanced at Spot, and she nodded sternly. I gulped as I looked back at the parliament, and I with as much strength as I could muster, I said, "When we were looking for survivors from the plane, we stumbled across clues that showed that a human survivor had indeed survived, but we couldn't find them when we were there. Then closer to midnight, we heard gunshots that could only have been from a survivor. We raced over to the area we heard them from, and we saw a gruesome sight. Crows had been shot, and it seemed they were chasing the human, and we followed the tracks until we came across the lone survivor. We made contact, and we had eventually gotten them to the sea of Hoole, but when we crossed it and entered the fog," I looked over at Spot as she nodded sternly again, "We lost the survivor and a friend he had made…"

What happened next was unexpected, and relieving. I didn't hear any gasps. And when I looked up, I saw some faces looking down at me with disappointed, yet unsurprised looks in their eyes. "We had expected this to happen… now then, where is Tyler?" Queen Baran asked.

I chuckled nervously, and said, "He told me to go and deliver the report, while he went back and recovered the survivor and his friend."

"Do we have a name for him or will we keep referring to _him_ as survivor?" I looked over and saw a weathered owl that was missing a talon and had a squinty eye; Ezlryb.

Bowing my head respectfully, I said, "Sorry Ezlryb… his name is Simon, and he seems to be approximately seventeen to twenty years old."

"Well… I guess we will have to wait for Simon to get here safely this time… you are dismissed Wolf." I nodded as the king finished, and I walked towards the exit.

I passed Spot and she walked with me as she asked, "Doesn't it feel good to tell the truth?" I chuckled, and I said, "Yes, but not when your crush is glaring you down…"

**A.N.: finished with this chapter, and I'm glad it is out of the way… I feel like it is taking effort to write these now, when they usually would just pop out like nothing. XD…**

**Anyways, reviews are appreciated, and I would gladly read any of your stories if you would like, just let me know, and if you would like some advice, help, or suggestions, I'm here. ;]**


	11. Similar Experiences

**Chapter 11: Similar Experiences**

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

_It feels great today, despite all the injuries I have been sustaining over the past week or so…_ I looked over just as Tyler began to speak, "Are you ready to start flying? At any time that you feel pain, think of something to distract yourself from it… you won't have a chance to land once we begin our flight." I nodded my head as I yawned once more; feeling every individual muscle stretching and relaxed was an amazing way to start my day.

"Are you sure Simon? I don't want you to get lost again, I was lucky I had found you two so quickly…"

"Yes Tyler… I feel like I'm at my best possible condition for flying, I believe I can make it this time if you stick close to us." I looked him in the eyes as I was saying this, and he nodded as he turned around. I looked to my left and smiled at Shana who was beaming profusely as she was facing the sea. I asked, "What is it Shana? You are practically radiating happiness!"

Smiling, she looked at me as tiny lightning bolts surged through her eyes, and she spread her wings, "I'll tell you as we're flying."

I smiled wider as I stretched my wings, and when I took off, I felt her do so also right beside me. We started to flap more frequently so we could catch up with Tyler, who had been waiting for us as he was slowly spiraling in the air. Turning towards Shana, I asked, "Can you tell me now?"

She looked at me and said, "Yes, now I can… anyways, the guardians of Ga'Hoole aren't entirely known for their heroics… they are known for their bravery and willingness to do right." As she was speaking, I was looking forward and paying attention to Tyler, but in my mind's eye; Shana was painting a moving portrait, "They are a legend among owls, and most doubt that legends are possible… there is one phrase however, that means thousands of things, and it is this that most chicks, remember the legends from. Here is how my Da used to tell it to me; 'From the golden mists that surround the great tree of Ga'Hoole, the Guardians rise from the dark, performing sublime deeds without any rewards. They spoke nothing except the truth, and with their courage and hearts made of gold; they would vanquish the evil, and mend the broken.' Or that is how I remember him telling me…"

I looked back at Shana as she trailed off, and I saw sadness in her eyes, and I slightly flew closer and asked, "Shana… what ever happened to… _your_ family?"

She looked back towards me, and I saw her beak quivering slightly as her eyes started to tear up. I cringed on the inside as I recognized the look that was in her eyes, _her parents must've died…_

Carefully and precisely, I flew as close to Shana as I could while maintaining flight, and I said, "Hey, hey… if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you to. But if you do, I will listen whole heartedly." With as much flight control as I could muster, I tipped my wing slightly back before lowering it, and gently rubbing it against the top of her back. I eased away as it was becoming hard to maintain a steady path. I sighed sadly and said, "If it helps in any way, I can understand how it feels to lose your parents… though it was a horrible way to witness it…"

I glared down at the water far below us as that particular painful memory started to resurface. I shed a solitary tear as I looked back up, and I heard Shana whisper, "What happened?"

I sighed sadly as I turned and looked at her with a softness, and I asked even softer, "Are you sure you want to know?" she nodded as I looked back down, and I started to let the memory flood my mind. "It started when we were heading for a relative's home for a holiday…"

***FLASHBACK -THREE YEARS AGO-***

**(A.N.: Every '…' is like passing into and out of consciousness.)**

_ I was sitting in the backseat as dad was driving our car through the outskirts of town, and mom was holding a large map in her hands and resting it against the dashboard. I turned to look outside, and I was smiling as I looked at the snow drifting by, and watched as it would twirl around in miniature tornados before blowing away. I reached my hand up and wiped it across the window as it was starting to fog up, and I asked while still looking outside, "How long until we are at grandpa's mom?"_

_ "We will be there in just thirty minutes Simon… I know you're excited, but this isn't our first Christmas out here." She answered back._

_ I rolled my eyes as I smiled, and said, "I know, it's just we haven't been here for two years, and you know I like grandpa's snow motorcycle thing."_

_ I heard my dad chuckle as he said, "It is called a snow mobile Simon… and yes, we know, that is why this Christmas is going to be extra special."_

_ Closing my eyes and leaning back against my seat, I sighed happily as I smelled the air, which was chilled to perfection, along with the sweet odor of eggnog and snow. I felt the car slowing down, and my body sliding towards the right side of the car. I felt as if the car was sliding, but it was quickly gone before I voiced my concern. _It's not cold enough for ice… is it?_ "Dad… what is the temperature?"_

_ I heard a few clicking, and I heard him say, "It is a little above zero, why?"_

_ "I thought I felt us sliding."_

_ I heard him chuckle as he said, "Don't worry about it sport, grand dad said the town salts its roads when ice is reported."_

_ As I nodded, I let my mind relax on that matter, and I leaned my head back against my seat as I relaxed my body again. I was leaned against my door as my seatbelt was off, and I had my leg crossed under my right leg._

_ I felt a chill creep its way into my spine as my hairs stood up, and I saw my eyesight sharpen as I shot them open, and I barely muttered, "Oh no." as I felt the car slow down slightly, and then hearing my dad curse as he said, "Hold on honey, we hit a small patch of black ice."_

_ My mom's nervous voice sounded to the right of me as she said, "Hopefully in ends soon…"_

_ "Why is that darling?"_

_ "B-Because the traffic light is red…"_

_ I looked forward and saw cars driving by in the intersection as we were speeding towards it._

_ Our car must've hit a patch of un-iced road, because we were soon spinning towards the intersection, and all my senses shut down as we entered the cross road. I looked out my window and saw a dumpster truck speeding at us, and I could faintly make out the window vibrating as if the truck was blaring its horn. I looked the other way, and saw a car around our side just make contact with the front left side of our car, spinning us clockwise as glass shattered and I felt my head slam into an unyielding surface. My vision dimmed, but before it was black entirely, I could make out the lights of the dumpster truck a few feet from the front of the car, with white smoke billowing from its front tires that I could see, all before speed returned to normal._

_ A loud crash mixed with screaming and yelling, along with the jingle of glass bouncing off rough surfaces. Screeching noise filled the air and cold air whipped fast my face. The painful throb in the side of my head was wearing off, but my vision darkening hadn't._

_ …_

_ I opened my eyes and noticed my head was looking out my window, and I could make out a car with a compressed hood against the light pole in the corner of the street flashing sparks into the air before I weakly closed my eyes again…_

_ …_

_ Loud noises started approaching as yelling was heard, and I opened my eyes and saw an ambulance along with a few cop cars racing down the street. I shifted my hips and groaned as I felt something warm running down my face as I closed my eyes…_

_ …_

_ I brought my hand up to my face as I reopened my eyes, and when I pulled my palm away, and saw it glistening red. I weakly swallowed as I saw the emergency vehicles pulling to a screeching halt, along with the sound of a fire truck approaching from the opposite side of the wrecked car I was in. I opened my mouth, and yelled out, "H… Help m-me… plea-se!"_

_ …_

_ Looking towards the front of the car, I blinked back my shock, and then I blinked again, and again… and again. Tears were forming in my eyes, and it took all my will power to look away. No matter how many times I blinked my eyes, the image of my parents was still burned into my eyes, and more so in my mind. I looked at my palm, and then looked past it and saw what was digging into my side; a shard of broken glass, and the painted part was facing upwards at me, had half a snowman's face on it…_

_ …_

_ I looked back outside my window and saw cops rushing towards the dumpster truck and the other car, and I saw the remaining cops, along with someone in a blue uniform running towards my car, but towards the other side of it. I reached down, and pulled the glass from my side, and was highly surprised when I felt not a thing against warmth running down the side of my body. I looked at my mangled door, and I pulled the handle; causing my door to literally drop off…_

_ …_

_ I fell out of the car as I dragged myself away from it, thinking only one thing, _I must get away from my parents dead bodies… _I felt the tears sliding down my cheeks, and I rolled onto my back as the pain started to engulf me, and I cried out. Soon, I saw a blurry black uniform, along with an equally blurry blue uniform standing above me. I felt myself being lifted up, but when the touched my side, I cried out, and I felt the pressure being removed and the fabric of my shirt being lifted…_

_ …_

_ "That's a deep cut; we need to get him to the ambulance now! He requires immediate care!"_

_ "On it, we will radio for more ambulances…" I felt myself slipping away, and I faintly heard the bubbly voices saying, "HE'S GOING INTO SHOCK!"_

***END FLASHBACK***

I was looking down as I muttered out, "My grandpa died of a heart attack as soon as he heard the news… and he was the only other relative I knew of that would take me in…" I shakily took a breath in, and I weakly looked over at Shana who had sadness and shock written all across her face. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders, but I also felt like a thin line between Shana and I had been strengthened. Her eyes that once threatened to spill tears now only contained caring, concern, and understanding.

Looking back forward, I let my breath out, and steadied the quivering in my heart. When I felt a tear slowly slide down over a feather on my face, I sighed before trying to harden my emotions so that I didn't end up crying; I didn't want to appear weak for the world to know.

I felt something graze the end of my wing, and as I looked over, I couldn't help but soften at the fact that Shana was the cause of it. She smiled comfortingly as she opened her beak and said, "Thanks for sharing that with me Simon…" she looked away slightly as she said, "I think I feel like telling you what happened to my parents now…"

My smile dropped slightly and I shook my head and said, "You don't need to tell me, I just wanted you to not be so sad."

"But I _want_ to tell you… my da use to always say 'sharing a memory can make one feel lighter, no matter how tragic.'" She looked back at me and said even firmer, "And I don't want to bear this by myself…"

I nodded and asked, "Well, then… what happened?"

While I was watching her, a shudder ran through her body, and she looked forward and said, "One day my Ma had been mobbed by crows while she and Da had split up to hunt, and Da had found her just before they grounded her."

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but what do you mean 'grounded her'?" I asked.

"Oh, um… it is a term my Da used to describe being rammed into the ground at high speeds… anyways, when he got there, he had just been able to fly between her and the ground. He told me that when he arrived, he and Ma fought them back, and that was why they were scratched up when they came home. They had collapsed in the hollow as soon as they had landed, and while they were slowly regaining their breath, they had told me what happened. Later, towards daybreak, we had all settled down and were sleeping… until mid-day when we awoke to the smell of smoke. My ma and da slept in a different hollow, so when my brother, sister, and I got out, we couldn't get to our parents, and they couldn't get to us…" Shana took in a few deep breaths, and a few tears slid down her face, but she continued, "later on, before we found a hollow to rest in, my brother and sister sacrificed themselves to fight off crows that had found us flying…"

I couldn't look away as I registered what she was saying, but I did manage to dry the tears over my loss, only to have them come out over sympathy for what Shana had went through. I sighed before saying, "Shana, I think that is enough… I don't want to have you in a sadder mood than you are already… just think about how life is for you currently." I smiled as she looked up at me and smiled weakly. Flying slightly closer, I said, "It is better to ponder on a mysterious future, rather than remain sad over tragic past events…" Her smile was growing the more I spoke, so I decided to turn her remaining sadness, into a full front happy attitude, "And if you're moping all day, you won't be able to enjoy me."

Smiling even wider, she giggled momentarily before she nodded. A random thought popped into my head, and I couldn't help but ask, "You remember when I first met you?" She nodded slightly as she grew slightly confused but curious, "Well… what were you thinking when you clawed my hand?"

When I finished, she slightly floated away as she looked away with a sheepish grin on her face. She looked back at me before saying, "I had _no_ idea what you were, along with the fact that I had just seen you fight three crows; I was scared you were going to attack me."

I chuckled as I nodded and said, "I can see your reasoning in that… anyways, I was thinking…" I looked away slightly as I took this into more consideration, before turning back towards Shana and saying, "…what if we chose to live on the mainland, instead of at the Ga'Hoole tree? I know you want to see it, and most likely stay there… but I would like the idea of a forest more than one giant tree…"

I looked over at Shana as she opened her beak, but before she could say anything, Tyler was flying close to us, and he said, "We will be nearing where the fog collects around the tree… stay close, and pay attention only to me, and make sure you are flying near each other also… I don't want to have you guys getting lost again, ok?"

Looking back at Shana, her expression had gone slightly serious, and I heard her say, "We got it…"

"Ok, stay close now…" Tyler finished off as we continued to fly on, with a greyish white hue now rising from the water, and then condensing into a thick fog.

**A.N.: Here is the next chapter; I hope you all enjoyed it! Please notice the question Simon asked that wasn't quite responded to… we will get to that in the next chapter, along with a few other things. This chapter was mainly a view of how Simon's background is, along with Shana's. That part of the chapter was a way to strengthen their bond, even if it was minuscular, understanding someone plays a big role in a relationship; whether it be your buddy, a GF or BF, or just a stranger; understanding how someone feels (and not just saying it) can, and will, gain you respect points…**


	12. The Arrival, With a Departure

**Chapter 12: The Arrival, With a Departure**

**(Simon's P.O.V.)**

This time when we entered the fog as a small group, we came out as a group also, and Shana and I were left to gape at the huge tree that was in front of us. I observed everything as it if it was a dream that would soon dissolve; yet it never did. "This is… a… _huge_… tree…" I mumbled out as I was still gazing at the tree in front of me. It was then that I noticed Wolf flying towards us with another owl trailing close behind. When they reached us, Wolf said, "Tyler, the council would like to see Simon… would you like me and Spot to take them?"

"If you would, I would like to go see Outillisa and get some rest…" it was when Tyler looked at us and nodded his farewells that I noticed how tired he was through his eyes. As he was flying, I heard Shana call after him, "Thanks for the trip Tyler!"

"Hey guys, we should get going to the parliament hall…" I heard a female voice say, and when I looked over, it was the owl that was flying with Wolf.

I nodded and flew over to Shana. I locked eyes with her momentarily, but in those few moments, I felt like she mentally said, _we will talk later._ I looked away as she started to grin, and I recognized the feeling of when you daydream…

I chuckled nervously as we flew behind the two older owls, and all the while, I kept marveling at how large the tree was. When I heard Wolf say, "Ok, when we arrive, you two will enter alone… don't get nervous, they can sense it…" my head snapped forward, and I was already growing nervous, and when I looked towards Shana, she was also. Then I heard the female owl say, "Wolf, don't make them nervous…" she looked back at us and finished, "The owls in there are kind, they just have some questions they need you to answer…"

"Um… uh… okay." I looked over at Shana, who was still looking at Wolf. I looked back forward, and saw there was a kind of platform before a hole in the tree. When our flight path altered, and we started to fly towards that platform, I knew that we would be there soon.

Landing on the platform wasn't hard; it was being coaxed into the hollow that was hard. While I was walking in, they had said it was better if Shana waited outside with them. I was now in the hollow, and as I walked forward, I could feel my heart racing; threatening to run away and leave me to face this alone. When I rounded the corner, I was met by the sight of large owls lined around the room, and when the two huge white ones saw me, the one on the left said, "Welcome Simon, we have been waiting for you…"

**(Outillisa's P.O.V.)**

When Tyler had flown into the hollow, I was thoroughly surprised, but that surprise had quickly morphed into happiness as I joined him in a hug. I planted my beak on his and gingerly kissed him as I asked, "So, did u manage to find anyone?"

I sighed gently as Tyler gently hugged me back. he chuckled next to my head and he said tiredly, "Yeah, found one kid… he is a good shot, that is for sure… he even managed to give Metalbeak some more burns." I gasped as Tyler chuckled.

"You ran into Metalbeak?" I asked in shock. Not many owls ran into him without getting killed or acquiring new scars or wounds. "And no one got hurt?"

Tyler stopped chuckling as he thought about it, and then he said, "Well… Simon… the kid, got cut all along his back when Nyra went for his… _lady_ friend." Tyler managed a small clipped chuckle as he added, "And Wolf actually managed to shift again, for once in a great while. I giggled as Tyler slowly ran his feathers up the side of my wing. He was watching the sparks that were once so plentiful, now were small and rare to see, trailing along my wing. I looked down and saw the green sparkles dancing across my secondary's, and I smiled as I thought of something. I looked at Tyler's white stripe, and I asked, "You want to know something we haven't done in a long time?"

"Hmmm?"

I giggled as I brought my feathers near the bottom of his stripe and quickly slid it up and rubbed. When he crumpled to the floor making a noise that sounded like a coo, I giggled some more, and as I leaned on top of him and gazed into his dark brown eyes, I said, "That is what…"

My heart fluttered as he gently kissed my beak, and he said, "Well, since that just adds to how tired I am," he gave a big yawn for emphasis, "I'm just going to sleep right here then…"

Playfully, I glared at him while he closed his eyes, and soon, he really was sleeping. _Wow, he must've really been tired… I guess I can move him to the nest…_

**(Spot's P.O.V.)**

While we were standing here, I got curious and decided to ask, "So, Shana, what do you think of Simon?"

Shana was just staring at me, and then I saw her take a step back as her feathers rose; signifying she had just comprehended what I asked. She wouldn't make eye contact with either of us, but when she did manage to calm down a bit more, she said quietly, "He's… uh; nice… he did save me from crows."

I nodded as she said this, and then I giggled lightly as I said, "Wolf tells me you already kissed him. Is that true?" In response to this, she blushed profusely as she walked away from us. I heard Wolf chuckle lightly as he said, "Well, you managed to scare her away…"

When I looked at him, I just scoffed and said, "She is only nervous because you are here… you don't understand females…"

"I understand you."

After he said that, I opened my beak to retaliate, but then I closed it. I couldn't think of something to say back to him, or nothing at our current moment. _If he understands me, then why doesn't he act like it then when we are together? _I looked at his smug face, and then I thought, _unless he is just bluffing…_

I sauntered over to him, and when I was standing by his side and said, "I might not know how at this moment, but when I do; I will get you back sometime… most likely tomorrow."

He scoffed as he wrapped a wing around my back and said, "But if you did that, then… then how would I be able to teach Simon about the tree?"

His pause wasn't lengthily, as more as it was noticeable. I smiled as his heart skipped a beak; but before I could say anything, I heard talons approaching, and we looked over to see Simon standing there as he looked around. He turned to us and asked, "Do you guys know where Shana went?"

I looked over and up, and I could see her facing the sea, and towards the southern seas; or more like the mainland. I looked back at Simon and said, "She is up in the branch, and how was your first time meeting the parliament?"

"Not my best meeting, but I have been through worse…" he said, and when he was finished, he turned, and flew up towards the tree's branch that Shana was standing on. I felt Wolf's wing unwrap from around me, and I heard his silent talon falls as he tried to creep away. Without looking away from Simon, who had just landed next to Shana, I said, "Don't think you're getting away that easy, we can always, _talk_ later."

**(Shana's P.O.V.)**

_Maybe living with Simon on the mainland won't be so bad… I would rather keep the individual life style rather than sharing with so many neighbors. _I sighed as I watch the stars twinkling in the starry sky, doing a magnificent dance of their own. I heard Wolf and Spot talking down below me, but I ignored them as my thoughts once again consumed my mind. _When we get to the mainland, I will be able to finally travel again, without that lonely feeling I once felt before. There is even that one strange stone structure with the colorful glass… I forgot what mum and da called it, but it was awfully pretty to see._

_ If Simon wants to still live on the mainland…_ I looked over as I heard someone land next to me, _I will…_

"Hello Shana, how are you?" Simon had just landed next to me, and he seemed to be smiling as he looked with me over the waters mirror surface. When he opened his beak again, his voice was calm, but it had another tone in it that I couldn't quite place, "I do still want to live on the mainland Shana… but if you don't want to, I will be willing to stay here."

My cheeks pulled up and I felt myself smiling as he was oblivious to this, but he added some more, "I talked with those in charge, and they said that I could do whatever I want, but if we ever want to stay here, we just need to be approved."

I looked over at him when he finished, and a few seconds later, he looked at me with that same smile. I opened my own beak as he seemed to be finished, and I said, "Living on the mainland is a good idea, and I want to show you a few things I found while I lived with my parents…"

Simon smiled as he nodded, and then he said, "Ok, well… let me go tell Wolf, and we will be off and on our way then…"

**A.N.: Ok, I know it is a little devious to cut this story off here, but WALLA, I'm done with 2 stories in 2 consecutive days! I want to let everyone know this… this **_**WAS **_**a side story, so even with all the detail that was in this story, it is just something that will be leading up to the final story, which might be shorter than the others, but then again, I can guarantee you that I won't make it cheap… next story will include lots of action, warfare, blood, and cussing… I might even just put it in the M section so I can add detail to the fighting sequences. If you don't like to read about gory blood and/or cussing, let me know, and I will see about minimizing it WHILE keeping the detail on the highest bar possible. Everyone has exactly 1 week before I upload the first chapter to the next story…**

**As a side note, I will ONLY update every week or so, the internet that I have been mooching on has finally gotten a password, and that was the only unsecured network available for me to use… so yeah, that sucks, but that just means I can put more effort into writing than playing my games. I hate it, but it is a good trade; especially for my readers… ;]**


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